REDLANDS – A local service club and Head Start have teamed up to bring Story Time to preschool children.

The Kiwanis Club of Redlands Morning Young Children: Priority One committee met last Friday with Head Start representatives to begin work on “Wiggles and Giggles: A Storybook Time.”

Kiwanis International has partnered with Head Start since 1987, working to provide funding and new programs.

Wiggles and Giggles is a new project created by the Redlands group to bring reading to preschoolers involved with the two Redlands Head Start programs.

Head Start is a national program created in 1965 to provide education, health, nutrition and parent involvement services to children of low-income families.

The committee has “adopted” the two Redlands locations in an effort to support young children in the community.

“I refer to them as `our kids,’ ” said committee Chairman Judith Brandt.

University of Redlands graduate student interns Jesse Gold and Chelsey Feierfeil attended the meeting and said they would recruit volunteers from campus to read to the preschool children.

The group already has a start with books donated by the Kiwanis Club.

Committee members at the meeting each picked a favorite story character or author as their personality when they read to children.

Future Story Time readers will include Goldilocks, Baloo from “The Jungle Book,” Mary Poppins, Curious George, and Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web.”

The committee members will have badges displaying their characters’ names, and will wear them while reading. They will also wear them to a Kiwanis Club meeting to help promote the program.

The group will also look for donations to Head Start to help equip their classrooms, including markers, educational board games and other items.

North Redlands Head Start program generalist Angie Morfin is glad the committee has made Head Start the focus of its program.

She said many of the children do not have the support of a father or grandparent in their lives, and will enjoy having volunteers read to them.

Kiwanis committee secretary Carole Ferrell-Coley said the group is also working to get books from First Book, which provides books to children in need.

“I’m very excited about reading to kids,” she said.

Ferrell-Coley, who also is the division secretary for the Kiwanis Club, said the Redlands program will be mentioned in the club’s monthly newsletter to encourage other clubs to partner with Head Start and read to children.

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